The old lady sat flat on
the ground, bending her head down to her gaunt knees and panted. She could not
see and listen clearly, nor speak well. She invited people to buy her lottery
tickets by showing them forward.

The oldest lottery ticket
seller in Long An

In Tan An City, in the southern province of Long
An, one can see many beggars at the working age. These healthy people don’t
want to work but beg money from others.

Contrary to these people is a small, hunchback woman with white hair
holding lottery tickets in her trembling hands to invite people.

At the age of 100, she is too old to work. Locals only see the old lady
grope her way by a stick on the road. Sometimes she sits flat on the ground, bending
her head down to her gaunt knees and panted.

She could not see and listen clearly, nor speak well. She invites people
to buy her lottery tickets by showing them forward. Customers take the lottery
tickets themselves and give money to the old lady.

I sell lottery ticket, not beg
for money!

Once a young couple who rode on an expensive scooter passed the old
lady, who was sitting on the pavement. The motorbike was over ten of meters
from the place where the old woman sat, but the girl told her boyfriend to
stop. She got off the vehicle and put a VND10,000 banknote into the old lady’s
torn palm-leaf conical hat. She was turning away when the old woman showed
lottery tickets to her. The girl shook her head but the woman pulled out a
lottery ticket, slid it into her hand and panted: “I sell lottery tickets, not
beg for money…”

The young girl understood. She kept the lottery ticket and bought
another one. After that, she gave one to the old lady. She had to persuade the
old lady for a while to take her gift, because the old lady said that she is
still healthy and she can work.

In Tan An city, this is the eldest and most experienced lottery ticket
seller. She is Tran Thi Hy from Phuoc Vinh Dong commune, Chau Thanh district.

Mrs. Hy said that she is 100 years old. She has 9 children, two of them
are still alive but they are over 60 years old and they don’t live with her.
When she was young, she was a trader at a local market. Her husband was a
carpenter.

Her husband died tens of years ago. She shared assets to her children
and has been living alone since then. Some of her children died. The two
remaining children are over 60 or 70.

Mrs. Hy has worked as a lottery ticket seller for over a decade. She
said she sells several dozens of lottery tickets a day and the income is enough
to buy cooking.

Living in the margin

Local officials said that the true age of the old lady is around 100
years old. Based on her ID card, she is 98.

According to other lottery ticket sellers in Tan An, as she is too old,
Mrs. Hy fell several times and her arms were broken.

The old woman now lives in a tent, near her daughter-in-law’s strong
house. She has no assets, just several old pots.

Neighbors said while strolling streets to sell lottery ticket, she often
takes a basket with her to collect waste papers as “fuel” to cook her meal.
Last year she was ill constantly but she dared not to go to hospital, because
her health insurance card was burned when she cooked rice. The local
authorities have recently granted a new insurance card to her.

“Sometimes we have to contribute our own money to present her during
holidays or the lunar New Year. Since she is named in the same family record
book with her children, who are not poor, she is not considered as poor person.
Thus, she is not allowed to enjoy social welfare policy for the poor,” a local
official said.

The official said that Mrs. Hy has many descendants who are well-off,
but she still lives in a tent, which doesn’t have a toilet.

Mrs. Hy’s descendants say that they are poor or the old lady has strange
nature and she didn’t want to live with anyone. Neighbors said that the old
lady is very poor and very miserable, but she is highly self-respecting.

The old lady’s only wish is “If the God pities me, please let me die
early to not bother my neighbors!”

Source: Afamily